The GOKISO Aerospace Hub features a spherical nut and washer, to keep the hub straight regardless of the orientation of the dropouts (Image: Kondo)

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If you’ve ever watched the Tour de France and winced as all those skinny-wheeled racing bikes bounced over the cobblestone roads ... well, you were right to do so. Not only are such hard, rough surfaces capable of bending rims, but they’re also hard on hub bearings – as the axle shaft flexes ever-so-slightly in response to hitting bumps, the ball bearings that encircle it are pressed against the hub’s bearing races, both causing friction and potentially damaging the bearings. Japan’s Kondo Machine Corporation, however, has created a product that is claimed to minimize this problem. It’s the “jet-engine-inspired” GOKISO Aerospace Hub, and we spied it last week at the 49th Paris Air Show.